AI video generation API: price comparison (2026)—8 models for the price of one clip

The same 8-second 720p clip costs from $0.18 to $3.03 depending on the model, a difference of about 16.8 times. These are the 8 video models available under one API key. But before the figure, one detail changes the answer: these models do not charge the same way—3 charge a fixed price per video and 5 per generated second. So “the cheapest API” depends on the clip length your product generates, and a ranking that gives one number per model only applies to the unstated clip length it chose.

First, a note on perspective: Kunavo is a product, a gateway that resells access to models, not an independent comparison site. The figures are taken from the catalog that charges for requests, at the time the page is generated. Kunavo prices checked on October 4, 2026.

Price of a 8-second 720p clip, by model

The common measure is 8 seconds at 720p: that is the unit charged by per-video-priced models, and all per-second-priced models can generate it. The “official price” column shows what the provider itself publishes for the same clip.

A dash in the official price column means we could not verify a price published by the provider—and we make no discount claim for those models. For the 4 models with an official price, Kunavo is lower.

Two pricing methods, and why they break comparisons

Google Veo 3.1 charges per video, and every Veo video is 8 seconds long, whatever duration you ask for. ByteDance Seedance and Alibaba Wan 2.7 charge per output second. In practice: at 8 seconds, Veo 3.1 Lite tops the table at $0.18; if you ask for 4 seconds, all per-second models cost half as much, while a Veo model still generates and charges for a whole clip. That is why a per-second model that seemed expensive at 8 seconds can be the cheaper of the two at 4 seconds. Above 8 seconds, a Veo model needs another whole clip and a per-second model charges only for the extra seconds, so the per-second models gain ground again; at 16 seconds each model costs double and the order is the same again. Set the duration before comparing prices. The AI video cost calculator works it out using your volume.

Which to choose by use case

• Drafts, previews, high volume — Veo 3.1 Lite, $0.18 for a 8-second clip. At that price, discarding a clip costs less than asking someone whether it is worth generating.
• The shot delivered to the client — Veo 3.1 Quality ($1.60 per video), the most expensive of the fixed-price models, worthwhile when the result comes out right the first time.
• Short clips, 6 seconds or less — the per-second-priced models: you pay for what you generate. The lowest per-second price is Seedance 2.0 Mini, at $0.0526 per second.
• Animating existing artwork — Veo 3.1 Lite, Veo 3.1 Fast, Seedance 2.0 Mini, Veo 3.1 Quality, Seedance 2.5: first and last frame, plus a reference image.

What Kunavo does not have

Other pages in this results set name models that are not on Kunavo: as of September 2026, Sora, Kling, Hailuo, Runway, Luma, Pika. If one of these is central to your project, this key cannot call it; another provider is the right answer.

How to call it

All 8 models share a single endpoint; only the model ID changes. Generation is asynchronous: the first request returns a task ID, and the finished video is retrieved in a later request because rendering takes tens of seconds. The format is in the video documentation; Veo details are in Veo 3 pricing. The image side of the same key: image generation API.

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